Berkson writes; “The words and title for BILL popped out of a juvenile detective novel Tom Veitch gave me around 1980. Soon, having typed a series of short sentences, paragraphs and stray phrases towards the bottom edge of unusually thin 8 1/2” by 11” sheets... I set aside the twenty-or-so pages and forgot about them.” The story was forgotten about until 2006 when Berkson found appropriate accompanying artwork in Jacobson's stunningly rendered pencil drawings.